The impact of Superstorm Sandy on Bergen County will be felt for many weeks to come.

That was apparent as early as Monday night, when the only light visible in many parts of the county were the eerie flashes of turquoise colored light as one transformer after another exploded in the gale force wind.

When the dawn broke, nearly 330,000 residents in the county were without county. No town was spared.

Like those transformers, the headlines popped out one after another.

A berm broke flooding Moonachie, Little Ferry and Carlstadt..

The county provided temporary housing to hundreds of residents in make-shift shelters in Paramus, Lyndhurst and Teterboro. By the end of the week, nearly 100 people were left in the last remaining shelter in Mahwah.

As the waters receded, the body of a 69-year-old South Hackensack man was discovered near the Hackensack River, near where he had abandoned his car.

Most County buildings including the Court House remained closed and without power for an entire week.

The devastation was such that Bergen was later added to the list of counties that qualified for a federal disaster declaration issued by President Barack Obama.

By Wednesday, long lines sprang up around the relatively few gas stations that had gas and power. Many stations simply ran out. The possibility of fuel shortages for first responders also worried emergency managers.

And as the week ended, County election officials scrambled to identify polling places that still had power in advance of the Nov. 6 election.

On Friday, elections board announced 152 polling places would be shifted to other locations with power.

Gas rationing arrived on Saturday. Power slowly started coming back. Emergency supplies and fuel deliveries gradually began to flow into the county.

Officials kept a wary watch on reports of a nor’easter that threatened to hit the area next week.

Quote of the week

“Every one of our communities has suffered enormously in this storm. It’s going to take a long time to get back to where we were.”